Lawyer and filmmaker Peter Stefanovic has hit out at the health secretary’s “unchallenged” claim that his Tory government “delivers on its promises”.
Sajid Javid made the comments on Sky News this weekend, much to the bewilderment of people on social media.
Outlining a series of broken promises made by the Conservatives at the last election, Stefanovic showed no sign of holding back as he held the government to account.
One of the promises was a guarantee not to raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance – which has meanwhile been scrapped. “Yes, I accept that this breaks a manifesto commitment,” Boris Johnson admitted.
“In fact Johnson’s government has just hiked taxes to the highest level in 70 years whilst implementing the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since World War II,” Stefanovic said.
He added: “And this comes on top of energy bills, food prices, fuel prices, inflation all soaring.”
The lawyer has also said Johnson’s pledge to fund a Leeds to Manchester high-speed railway route has been scrapped, as was the triple-lock, which chancellor Rishi Sunak branded as “government policy”.
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“Johnson promised voters a first-class service and then handed them the equivalent of a second-class ticket on a rail replacement bus,” Stefanovic said.
He added: “The Conservatives made a solemn promise to maintain the triple-lock formula for the annual rate of pension increases. Now they just scrapped it for next April.”
‘Nobody should be forced to sell their home’
Stefanovic then looked at the Conservatives’ pledge ahead of the 2019 general election that “nobody needing care should be forced to sell their home to pay for it.” “Now Johnson says no one will be forced to sell a home they or their spouses are living in. Well, hang on, isn’t that the position now?
“The social care plan for England does not guarantee someone’s home will not have to be sold to pay for their care. It means that this does not have to happen in their lifetime. Another promise broken.”
The lawyer concluded by reminding viewers that the Tories promised 40 new hospitals by 2030 – but that the government watchdog, the Infrastructure and Project Authority, branded the plans ‘unachievable’.
“If that’s not bad enough, Johnson’s government has now ordered NHS Trusts to describe building work on existing sites as new hospitals. It’s like building a shed in your back garden calling it a new house,” he said.
Last month, Peter Stefanovic lashed out at a Tory minister for talking “bullshit” about the state of the NHS – and the BBC for letting his remarks go unchallenged.
On BBC Breakfast, presenter Naga Munchetty asked Edward Argar about the severity of NHS staff shortages – who responded that it was “very difficult” to make an “objective assessment”.
“The NHS workforce in England is in crisis. NHS hospitals, mental health services, community providers are reporting staggering shortages of more than 90,000 full-time staff,” Stefanovic said, adding: “How can the health minister not know that? Why was this readily available information not pointed out to viewers?”
Related: Peter Stefanovic hits out at health minister’s BBC bluster